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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. club — a group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. club — for golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com